Peptide News Digest

#Beyond-Glp-1

2 stories

Research · View digest

Frontiers in Drug Discovery (April 10): "Beyond GLP-1" Review Maps Underexplored Peptide-Receptor Systems as Next Therapeutic Frontier

A Frontiers in Drug Discovery review (April 10, 2026) catalogs underexplored peptide-receptor systems that the authors argue failed not for biological reasons but because of technical and conceptual barriers solvable with modern peptide engineering. Coverage spans metabolic and energy-balance peptides (apelin, spexin), appetite-regulating systems (peptide YY, oxyntomodulin), bone-muscle-fat crosstalk mediators (osteocalcin, irisin), and neuroendocrine-immune-metabolic peptides (phoenixin, relaxin-3). The argument: lessons from GLP-1 — stabilization, conjugation, and dosing innovation — now make these orphan receptor systems tractable. Companion essay from Bloomgarden in the Journal of Diabetes (2026, vol 18 e70204) frames the same opportunity from the clinical side, citing GLP-1 tolerability ceilings and the 10-20% non-responder problem that creates room for the next wave.

Research · View digest

Bloomgarden in Journal of Diabetes: "Beyond GLP-1" — Tolerability Ceilings and Non-Responder Limits Drive the Next Wave

Bloomgarden's commentary in the Journal of Diabetes (2026, vol 18, e70204) frames the clinical case for moving past first-generation GLP-1 agonists, focusing on two limits: gastrointestinal intolerance that forces dose reduction or discontinuation in 15-30% of patients depending on agent and titration, and a non-responder problem where roughly 10-20% of treated individuals fail to reach the expected weight-loss range. With 12% of US adults reported to have at least temporarily received a GLP-1 agonist, the population-level stakes are large. The commentary lands alongside the Frontiers Drug Discovery 'Beyond GLP-1' review as one of two academic pieces this month formalizing the post-incretin research agenda — and aligns with the AstraZeneca ASCEND triple-mechanism thesis, the petrelintide + enicepatide combination program, and Lilly's quintuple agonist disclosed for ADA 2026.